Leah Kirchmann

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Sports: Cycling

Cyclist Leah Kirchmann was introduced to her sport at age 13, as part of the Kids of Mud program in her hometown of Winnipeg, MB. Initially, it served for her as cross-training for cross country skiing, but she says she was soon hooked on biking “after a few good battles through the mud.”

While Leah was soon recruited for a road team, her love of being outdoors and being active kept her skiing in the winters, mountain biking and road cycling as the snow melted. Leah stuck with all three sports for several years, but skiing and mountain biking eventually took a backseat to cycling as a portion of her time and energy shifted to her studies.

Soon after, Leah was noticed by pro teams, and began her professional road racing career with the Optum Pro Cycling team in 2011. In 2014, Leah became the first Canadian cyclist (male or female) to win all three road National Championship titles (road, time trial, criterium), and in the same year placed third in La Course by Le Tour de France.

Currently, Leah continues to cycle internationally as a member of Dutch pro team Liv-Plantur. Leah’s admiration for Clara Hughes has helped inspired her to not only excel in sport, but to use sport as a way to give back to the community as well. In her spare time, in addition to cooking and travelling, Leah works to be an advocate and ambassador both for healthy living and for young women in sport.

What Leah loves most about her sport:

My bike can bring me anywhere I want to go. Not every sport presents you the kind of freedom to explore your surroundings like a bicycle can.

2016 Rio Olympic Games

Two days before the biggest win of her career (a first place finish in the prologue of the Gira Rosa), Leah was selected to Canada’s Olympic Cycling team.

At the Games, Leah said she “wasn’t feeling amazing” after the first few climbs, and ultimately the course got the best of her. She opted to help her teammates for the remainder of the 139km course, and finished 38th overall in her Olympic debut. “This has left me even more motivated looking to the future and hopefully riding in future Games.” Cycling Canada has high hopes for her through the next Olympiad into the 2020 Tokyo Games, and Leah is continuing to look forward after a breakthrough hear on the professional circuit.

In Action

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Results

Leah Kirchmann

2016 UCI Road World Championships – Doha Qatar

Oct 15, 2016

Road Cycling – 134.1km
14th Place

Leah Kirchmann

Grand Prix de Plouay – Bretagne

Aug 27, 2016

Road Cycling – 135.4 km
6th Place

Leah Kirchmann

Crescent Vårgårda – UCI Women´s WorldTour

Aug 21, 2016

Road Cycling
22nd Place

Leah Kirchmann

Rio 2016 Summer Olympics

Aug 7, 2016

Road Cycling – 136.9 km
38th Place

Leah Kirchmann

La Course by Le Tour de France

July 24, 2016

Road Cycling
12th Place

Leah Kirchmann

2016 Global Relay Canadian Road Championships Presented by Lexus

June 25, 2016

Elite Road Race – 110km
3rd Place

Leah Kirchmann

Steve Bauer Classic

May 21, 2016

Road Cycling
1st Place

Leah Kirchmann

Tour of Chongming Island

May 6, 2016 - May 8, 2016

Cycling – General Classification
3rd Place

Leah Kirchmann

La Flèche Wallonne Femmes

Apr 20, 2016

Road Cycling – 137km
21st Place

News

Leah Kirchmann: Canadian abroad heads into Het Nieuwsblad

Friday, February, 24th, 2017

CYCLING NEWS (Feb 24) Leah Kirchmann: Growing up in Winnipeg, Canada, it was always my dream to race in Europe. Two years ago, my dream came true.

Dideriksen upsets the Dutch to become world champion in Doha

Leah Kirchmann takes 14th place at World Championships

Saturday, October, 15th, 2016

TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN (Oct 15) The UCI World Championships in Doha, Qatar, continued today with the road race for elite women. The team supplied two riders, with Leah Kirchmann for Canada and Sara Mustonen for Sweden.